A Wind Not So Unkind
by MsCongeniality
Summary: A conversation between two friends. Set postseries.


The autumn air bit, even on the short walk from the main house to the smaller structure that Hatori used for his residence. As he stood waiting at the front door, Shigure began to regret his decision to walk over without a coat. The brief discomfort was set aside, however, when his friend opened the door and Shigure greeted him with a broad smile and cheerful tone.

"Ha-san, hello!"

He didn't miss the brief narrowing of the eyes or the tightening at the corners of Hatori's mouth before the door opened wide in implied invitation. "Shigure," Hatori said evenly as he stepped aside to allow the writer to enter. "To what do I owe the honor?"

Shigure walked past, waving a hand airily. "Do I need an excuse to visit my dear friend and neighbor? Really Ha-san, one might think you didn't _want_ guests."

The door shut and Hatori turned to face his friend. "For the most part, you'd be right. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me, not a time I'd choose for entertaining."

"Ah, then," Shigure said with a grin. "You're lucky that it was only me that came by. I'm certainly more than capable of entertaining myself and you could use the companionship."

Hatori raised an eyebrow. "Could I?" He shook his head slightly then turned to make his way down the hall towards the sitting room. "Now that you're here, you might as well come in and have some tea."

Shigure paused briefly to remove his shoes and for moment his façade dropped. A serious expression lit on his face as he followed his friend's back retreating along the corridor. By the time he re-joined him in the sitting room, however, the benign smile was back in place without any hint of shadow.

"How could anybody refuse such a warm invitation, Ha-san?"

Shigure took a seat at the low table where there was tea already waiting. One half-filled cup and a magazine with pair of discarded glasses resting atop it were proof enough that the Doctor wasn't quite as busy as he'd claimed. A second cup was produced, and Hatori poured for his friend as the two men settled into what might ordinarily be termed a companionable silence. This silence, though, carried an edge to it; an air of something between them left unresolved.

Shigure spent several minutes playing through the social niceties. He sipped his tea and made polite noises about it, responding blandly to Hatori's replies. Then, he fished out a pack of cigarettes offering one to Hatori in a perfunctory gesture. It was, as always, refused, though Hatori did reach into his own vest pocket for a cigarette of his preferred brand.

The visit had, thus far, followed the same mechanical script that seemed to dictate all of their interaction lately. Awkward or not, Shigure was determined to break what had become a painful routine of strained and unsuccessful conversations.

Finally, and with a long stream of exhaled smoke, Shigure leaned back in his chair. Hatori was no idiot and had long familiarity with Shigure's penchant for leading a discussion. It was time, then to cut through the circuitous dialogue and word play with something he would not expect. Shigure looked away towards the chill scene outside the window and began in an almost offhand, casual tone.

"You're free now, you know."

Hatori once again raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I had noticed. Thank you."

Shigure turned back to his friend, bland expression belying the consideration he had given his words. "Then why," he said smoothly, "aren't you moving on with your life?"

Hatori leaned forward, tipping a bit of ash into the tray on the table between them. His expression remained even, but his words took on an edge. "And where is it that you want me to go?" He leaned back again, resting an arm across his midsection and gesturing faintly with the cigarette.

"This freedom changes very little for me. My home is still here, and my work is no different. My responsibilities don't suddenly rearrange themselves because I'm no longer possessed of the Dragon."

Shigure reached out in a fluid motion as Hatori spoke, placing his cigarette in the tray and once again picking up his tea. He held the rapidly cooling cup in front of him, continuing the fiction of casual conversation.

"There are other ways to move on."

Hatori exhaled a stream of smoke and nodded across the table. "Like you, perhaps?"

Shigure shrugged, "You could do worse."

"Not every man has a goddess within his reach," Hatori replied wryly.

Sitting upright for the right note of drama, Shigure gestured broadly. "All women are goddesses, my friend. It just takes the right man to bring out their inner spirit."

Hatori snorted in response, "Now, you sound like that fool Ayame."

"Perhaps," Shigure admitted, settling back into a relaxed pose. "But at least he's left his shadows behind and taken the next step with that pretty little maid of his."

"She's not his—" Hatori began, but Shigure cut him off.

"No, she isn't. She's his match and more than his equal." He leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table as he attempted to close some of the distance between them.

"You could have that kind of happiness, too. If only you'd let yourself."

He saw Hatori's jaw tighten again and his friend reached out, deliberately closing the space between himself and Shigure to tip some ash into the tray as he composed his reply. After a long moment, Hatori spoke in a low, even tone.

"Had it ever occurred to you that I am moving on, but that I choose to do so at my own pace?"

Shigure opened his mouth to respond, but this time it was Hatori who cut _him_ off, gesturing with his lit cigarette and speaking firmly.

"You cannot compare me to you, or Mayuko to Miine. You cannot assume that just because one particular barrier to a relationship has been removed, everything will fall into place. And you cannot," he concluded, "push me into rushing this, not matter how well intentioned you may be."

Shigure smiled in response, spreading his hands in a broad gesture. "Ha-san, I would never dream—"

"Of course you would," Hatori interrupted. "You already have."

His grin faded to a smirk as Shigure crossed his arms and once again leaned forward across the table. This time, his chin rested in one palm.

"Perhaps I have," he conceded. "Mou…Ha-san, it's just that the two of you go so well together."

"Then let us continue to discover that for ourselves."

Shigure raised an eyebrow of his own. "Continue?"

Hatori stubbed out the remains of his cigarette and settled back in his chair with his arms crossed. He looked back at Shigure through a fringe of hair, his set expression stating his intention to say no more.

The smile Shigure gave him in response was genuine. It was, he mused, sometimes more effective to threaten an action than to undertake it. Hatori might not do so consciously, but there would always be some level of wanting to prove his success without Shigure's interference that would drive his actions and make him more determined in his pursuit of the fair Mayuko. And that, he concluded, might just be enough.

Shigure sat up again, and reached for the teapot. He poured each of them a fresh cup, then looked back to the window and the cold day outside.

"Perhaps we should enjoy this wintry chill while we can, Ha-san. After all, it will soon enough give way to spring."


End file.
